Unlock Radical Transformation & Bold Power (Ephesians 5:18 Bible Study)

 

Be Filled with the Holy Spirit Series

 

Did you know that if you are a believer in Christ, you are an ambassador for the kingdom of God? The dictionary defines an ambassador as a person sent as the chief representative of their government in another country. As believers in Christ, we carry the message of Christ—and more than just the message, we carry the presence of Christ Himself. The Scriptures tell us that:

 

We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

 

As an ambassador, you often find yourself in unfamiliar lands. Although we are in this world, we are not of it. We represent our King and a heavenly Kingdom. When an ambassador is sent to another country, they are equipped with identification and the authority to act on behalf of that nation. Similarly, we are not sent out unprepared; God has provided everything we need to fulfill the mission He has given us. He has promised to be with us always, leading and equipping us for every good work through the Holy Spirit. He does not expect you to go in your own name, with your own strength, or relying solely on your resources. Instead, He offers divine help. Sometimes, we forget this fact. It is God’s will for you to be filled and empowered by the Spirit of God. How can being filled with the Spirit change our lives? I believe that experiencing being filled with the Spirit is important for every believer in Christ today. Being filled with the Spirit is not meant only for a few super-saints or first-century Christians; rather, all believers should experience the Spirit at work in their lives. Let me illustrate with the following story.

 

A poor man had wanted to go on a cruise all his life. When he was younger, he saw an advertisement for a luxury cruise, and ever since, he dreamed of spending a week on a large ocean liner, enjoying the fresh sea air and relaxing in a luxurious setting. He saved money for years, carefully counting his pennies and often sacrificing personal needs to stretch his resources a little further.

 

Finally, he had enough money to buy a cruise ticket. He could hardly believe he was about to fulfill his dream. Soon he would set foot on a cruise liner! Knowing he could not afford the fancy food shown in the brochure, he planned to bring his own provisions for the week. Having spent all his savings, he decided to bring a week's supply of bread and peanut butter. That was all he could afford.

 

The first few days of the cruise were exciting. The man ate peanut butter sandwiches alone in his room each morning and spent the rest of his time relaxing in the sunlight and fresh air, happy to be on the ship. However, by midweek, he realized that he was the only person on board not eating fancy meals. Every time he sat on the deck, relaxed in the lounge, or stepped outside his cabin, a porter would walk by with a massive meal for someone who had ordered room service.

 

By the fifth day of the cruise, the man couldn't take it anymore. The peanut butter sandwiches tasted stale and bland, and he was desperately hungry. Finally, he stopped a porter and exclaimed, "Tell me how I can get one of those meals! I'm starving for some decent food, and I'll do anything you say to get it!" "Why, sir, don't you have a ticket for this cruise?" the porter asked. "Certainly," said the man. "But I spent everything I had on that ticket. I have nothing left to buy food." "But, sir," said the porter, "didn't you realize that meals are included in your passage? You may eat as much as you like!"

 

As strange as it may sound, we believers in Jesus Christ often do the same as the man in the parable. We act as if we are in spiritual poverty when we already have infinite resources through our union with Christ. It is my hope that through this series, your eyes will be opened to the heavenly resources and gifts that God has for you, and that you will be used and empowered in a fresh way.

 

The Holy Spirit Brings a Radical Change in Character

 

In Acts chapter 9, we see one of the most remarkable conversions—Saul, a radical zealot for Judaism, became a believer in Christ. When Saul approved of the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, he witnessed Stephen praying and asking God to forgive his persecutors (Acts 7:59). He ignored the conviction he began to feel (Acts 26:14) and started destroying the church, going house to house, dragging men and women off to prison (Acts 8:3). At the beginning of chapter 9, we find him still “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1). Yet, within a few days, Saul was preaching in synagogues that “Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20), astonishing both non-believers and believers alike. People asked one another, “Isn’t he the man who caused chaos in Jerusalem among those who call on his name?” [of Jesus] (Acts 9:21). The Lord Jesus appeared to Saul on the road outside Damascus, saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” ⁵“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. ⁶“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (Acts 9:4-6). He was blind for three days and did not eat or drink anything (v. 9). After three days, the Lord spoke to a disciple named Ananias and told him to go and pray for Saul "for he is praying" (v. 11). Here's the passage describing what happened to Saul:

 

¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength (Acts 9:17-19).

 

What changed Saul so completely in those few days? First, he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. Encountering the Lord Jesus can transform your life. Second, he had been “filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 9:17). He experienced God in a way that transformed his life. Third, at the moment of Ananias' prayer for Saul, “something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again” (v. 18). This transformation in the life of Paul was sudden, and it was deep. It was not simply a change of mind. It was a transformation brought about by the Spirit of God. “Where sin abounds, grace abounds even more” (Romans 5:20). At this point, we should look back in the Book of Acts to what happened fifty days after Christ’s crucifixion—the day God poured out the Holy Spirit.

 

The Day of Pentecost

 

¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: “Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹(both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine” (Acts 2:1-13).

 

Luke uses the imagery of a heavy tropical rainstorm to describe the power of the Spirit coming and flooding the apostles' beings. There were physical signs of hearing a blowing wind (v. 2); it was not an actual gust, but it resembled one. It was the mighty, invisible power of the Ruach of God; this is the same Hebrew word used in the Old Testament to describe wind, breath, and spirit.

 

They also saw something that looked like fire, described as tongues of fire that came down and settled on the heads of the disciples of Christ (Acts 2:3). This is the only time visible tongues of fire are mentioned in the New Testament. It was the initial outpouring of the Spirit.

 

Picture this scene: Jews from different nations are amazed to hear these believers speaking in their languages. What observations can you make from the text? Describe some of the different reactions you imagine and how people might have responded in this situation.

 

I believe the Holy Spirit is still being poured out today through signs and wonders. Some people think that the gifts stopped at some point in the first or third century. This belief is called cessation. In my view, there is no support for this idea in Scripture. If it were true, when would these gifts have stopped? Early Christian leaders like Tertullian, Ambrose, Jerome, and Augustine documented signs and miracles. Are we to disregard their testimony? Later in this series, we will explore reasons for believing that signs and wonders are still happening today. For now, I simply believe that we should remain open to the gifts of the Spirit actively working today. People who describe their experiences of the Holy Spirit often mention feeling physical heat or electricity. Physical heat sometimes occurs when the Spirit fills someone, causing them to feel warmth in their hands or other parts of their bodies. One person described a sensation of glowing all over. Another said she experienced "liquid heat." This may symbolize the power, passion, and purity that the Spirit of God brings into our lives.

 

For others, the experience of the Spirit may be an overwhelming sense of God's love. The apostle Paul prayed for the believers in Christ at the church in Ephesus that they might have “power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18). The love of Christ is wide enough to reach every person in the world. It crosses all continents to include people of every race, color, tribe, and background. It is long enough to last a lifetime and into eternity, and it is deep enough to reach us no matter how far we have fallen. It is high enough to lift us into heavenly places. We see this love most clearly in the cross of Christ. We know Christ’s love for us because He was willing to die for us. Paul prayed that we would understand the full extent of God’s love.

 

Experiencing the Power of the Holy Spirit

 

Another notable event early in the Book of Acts was the first time Gentiles (Non-Jews) were filled with the Spirit. God did something extraordinary, starting with a vision given to a Roman centurion named Cornelius. God also communicated with Peter through a vision, instructing him to go to Cornelius's house and speak to the Gentiles. When Peter arrived at Cornelius's house and began to preach, something remarkable happened halfway through his talk:

 

The Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers [that is, the Jews] who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God (Acts 10:44-46).

 

God interrupted the meeting at Cornelius's house. Peter had to stop speaking because it was clear something was happening in the home (v. 44). The filling of the Holy Spirit rarely happens imperceptibly, although the experience varies for each person.

 

Why do you think the Jewish believers were surprised that the Holy Spirit was given to the Gentiles? How did this change their thinking?

 

The Believers were Set Free to Praise God.

 

When these Gentiles were filled with the Spirit, they started “praising God” (Acts 10:46). Spontaneous praise is the language of people who are excited and thrilled about their experience of God. It should involve our whole personality, including our emotions. I am asked, “Is it right to express emotions in church? Isn’t there a danger of emotionalism? The danger for most of us in our relationship with God is not emotionalism but a lack of emotion-a lack of feeling.”

 

Someone might argue that emotions are fine in private, but what about publicly expressing emotions? After a conference in Brighton, England, attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, The London Times published correspondence praising the vibrant, charismatic worship Carey observed, contrasting it with the Anglican Church's reserved style. Some newspaper writers criticized emotional displays as shallow, while others defended them as genuine spiritual expression, highlighting tensions between traditional Anglicanism and the rising charismatic movement. Under the heading "Carey's Charisms," one person wrote:

 

Why is it that if a cinema comedy produces laughter, the film is regarded as successful; if a theatre tragedy brings tears to the audience, the production is regarded as touching; if a football match thrills the spectators, the game is reviewed as exciting; but if the glory of God moves the congregation in worship, the audience is accused of emotionalism?

 

The word for "tongues" is the same as "languages," meaning the ability to speak a language one has never learned. It may be an angelic language (1 Corinthians 13:1), which is probably not recognizable, or a recognizable human language, as on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2). In one meeting, a young woman named Penny was praying with another woman. She ran out of words in English and started praying in tongues. Her friend smiled, then opened her eyes and started laughing. She said, "You have just spoken to me in Russian." The friend, although English, spoke fluent Russian and loved the language. Penny asked, "What have I been saying?" The friend told Penny that she was saying, “My dear child,” over and over.

 

What Is Speaking in Tongues?

 

Speaking in tongues is a type of prayer (one of many different forms of prayer found in the New Testament), according to Paul:

 

For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God. Indeed, no one understands him; he utters mysteries with his spirit (1 Corinthians 14:2-3).

 

Tongues are a form of prayer that strengthens the individual Christian— “He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself” (v. 4). The gifts that build up the church are even more significant, but this does not diminish the gift of tongues. The advantage of tongues is that they serve as a form of prayer that surpasses the limitations of human language. This appears to be what Paul means when he says:

 

For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful (1 Corinthians 14:14).

 

How Does Speaking in Tongues Help the Believer in Christ?

 

Praise and Worship. When we draw near to God, we long to express our worship and praise, especially when we are filled with the Spirit. The gift of tongues allows us to do this beyond the limits of human language.

 

Prayer During Stress. Speaking in tongues can be a valuable aid when praying during difficult moments. There are times in our lives when it’s hard to know exactly how to pray, often because of the many stresses, anxieties, or griefs that weigh on us. Not long ago, someone prayed for a man aged twenty-six after his wife died of cancer after only one year of marriage. He asked for and immediately received the gift of tongues; all the emotions and burdens he had suppressed seemed to flood out. Afterwards, he said it was a great relief to unburden himself from all those feelings.

 

Prayer for Others. It is not selfish to want to pray in tongues, although “he who speaks in a tongue edifies himself” (1 Corinthians 14:4). Jackie Pullinger, a missionary working in a spiritually dark area of Hong Kong, described how her ministry was transformed when she started to use the gift of speaking in tongues.

 

By the clock, I prayed 15 minutes a day in the language of the Spirit and still felt nothing as I asked the Spirit to help me intercede for those He wanted to reach. After about six weeks, I began to lead people to Jesus without even trying. Gangsters fell to their knees sobbing in the streets; women were healed, and heroin addicts were miraculously set free. And I knew it all had nothing to do with me.

 

It was also her gateway to receiving other gifts of the Spirit:

 

With my friends, I began to learn about the other gifts of the Spirit, and we experienced a remarkable few years of ministry. Scores of gangsters, well-to-do people, students, and church members were converted, and all received a new language to pray in privately and other gifts to use when gathering together. We opened several homes to shelter heroin addicts, and everyone was delivered from drugs painlessly because of the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

How Do We Receive the Gift of Tongues?

 

Not every Christian speaks in tongues (1 Corinthians 12:30). Yet Paul wrote: “I would like every one of you to speak in tongues” (1 Corinthians 14:5). Paul indicates that the gift of speaking in tongues is available to all believers, not just a specific group of Christians. There is no reason why anyone who desires this gift of the Spirit should not receive it. Paul is not saying that everyone must speak in tongues; he is emphasizing that it is a beneficial gift. Like all God's gifts, we must cooperate with His Spirit. God does not force His gifts on us.

 

What are common obstacles to being filled with the Spirit? The answer to that question is doubt. People often have many doubts in this area, the main one being, "If I ask, will I receive?" Jesus said:

 

⁹“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ¹⁰For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. ¹¹“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? ¹²Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:9-13).

 

“I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you.” The Lord must have noticed that they were a little skeptical because He repeated it in a different way: “Seek and you will find.” And again, He said it a third time: "Knock, and the door will be opened to you." He understands human nature, so He expressed it differently a fourth time: “For everyone who asks receives” (v. 10). They still weren’t convinced, so He spoke it a fifth time: “He who seeks finds.” Again, a sixth time: “To him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

 

Why did He say it six times? Because He knows what we are like. We find it very hard to believe that God would give us anything—let alone something as remarkable and extraordinary as His Holy Spirit and the gifts He provides. Jesus used the analogy of a human father. If a child asks for a fish, no father will give him a snake. If a child asks for an egg, no father would give him a scorpion (Luke 11:11-12).

 

Our Feelings of Inadequacy

 

It is crucial that there is no unforgiveness or other sin in our lives and that we have turned our backs on all that we know is wrong. However, even after doing that, we often feel a vague sense of unworthiness and inadequacy. We cannot believe that God would give us anything. We might think that He would give gifts to very mature Christians but not to us. But Jesus did not say, "How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to all very advanced Christians.” He says, “How much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (Luke 11:13).

 

I want to say this about God's work in our lives: To be very clear, every believer has an encounter with the Holy Spirit. We know that the Holy Spirit has been at work in the life of every believer because the Father sends the Holy Spirit to convict us of sin and reveal Jesus to us. Jesus said:

 

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6:44).

 

Even if you were raised in a Christian home and learned about Christ from a young age, you still have a conscious individual choice to follow Him. Receiving the Holy Spirit is also a conscious experience. When Paul arrived at Ephesus, he asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit since they believed. He could see that a work of regeneration had already begun in their lives, but he still wanted to pray that they be filled with the Spirit (Acts 19:2).

 

Author and theologian Clark Pinnock, when referring to the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, writes:

 

Baptism is a flexible metaphor, not a technical term. Luke seems to regard it as synonymous with “wholeness.” Therefore, so long as we recognize conversion as truly a baptism in the Spirit, there is no reason why we cannot use “baptism” to refer to subsequent fillings of the Spirit as well. This major experience or experiences ought not to be tied down in a tight “second blessing” schema, but should be seen as an actualization of what we have already received in the initial charismatic experience, which is conversion.” We can expect to continually be filled with the Spirit, not just at conversion. Our hunger, openness, and availability will determine how we respond to the Spirit.

 

Dr. Martin-Lloyd Jones says this about the experience of being filled with the Holy Spirit:

 

1. It is conscious
2. It is usually subsequent to a person having believed
3. It is the highest form of assurance.

 

He loved to quote D. L. Moody’s experience. Moody was walking down the streets of Brooklyn, New York, when one day, unexpectedly, the Spirit of God came upon him. The experience was so powerful that Moody thought he was going to die. He said, “I asked God to stay His hand, lest he die right on the spot. It was that powerful.”

 

Moody was seeking God and pursuing Him with a sincere heart. Everyone’s experience varies, but one thing remains constant: God gives the Holy Spirit to those who ask and seek Him. You must seek, and sometimes you need to wait. The baptism with the Holy Spirit is real. For me, it happened at the same time as my conversion. I literally felt liquid waves of love flowing through my body. God healed my emotions during that moment. I was seeking Him, but hadn’t been following Him before this. God revealed Jesus to me and filled me with His Spirit simultaneously. For many people, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs later. There’s no single “formula.” God meets His people where they are and with what they need. When I came to Christ, I was in a situation where I needed power in my life to break free from addiction and destructive behaviors that could have kept me from following God. I believe that my intense conversion experience and being filled with God’s Spirit at the same time were answers to the hunger of my heart.

 

The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13-14).

 

Receiving the Spirit

 

Do you want to learn more about the reality of the Holy Spirit in your life? Take time to pray and ask God to move again in your life. Seek Him with all your heart and ask Him to fill you with His Holy Spirit. If you have any unforgiveness in your heart, confess this to the Lord now. Unforgiveness can keep us from receiving from the Lord. Know that the Father desires to give good gifts to His children when they ask.

 

Prayer: Father, cleanse my heart afresh and remove from me the sins of my youth. I need your power to overcome sin and to walk in the power of a changed life. I invite you to fill me with your Holy Spirit so I can live for you. Amen!

 

Parts of this study have been adapted from the Alpha Course, written by Nicky Gumbel.

 

Continue Your Journey…

 

This devotional is part of our Be Filled With the Spirit series. Here’s the link to the YouTube video of the study: Be Open to the Holy Spirit

 

Keith Thomas
Facebook: keith.thomas.549
Email: keiththomas@groupbiblestudy.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@keiththomas7/videos